Turn N Run returns to Windows Phone 8 just as Ghostscape departs

It’s always a good news/bad news situation when it comes to Xbox game compatibility and Windows Phone 8. Nearly every time a game gains compatibility, another title is discovered with incompatibility issues and subsequently pulled (see this article for the full incompatibility list). That story repeats itself again today: Turn N Run from MaxNick has finally received its Windows Phone 8 compatibility patch. Ghostscape from Psionic Games however, is now restricted to Windows Phone 7 devices.

Turn n return

Turn N Run launched back in November, just after the debut of Windows Phone 8. It could initially be purchased from WP8 devices, but suffered from crashing issues. The developers actually knew about those issues before launch and had already begun creating an update to correct them. Two months later, the version 1.1 patch has brought the game back in fine working order.

Turn N Run is a puzzle game that combines the camera rotation mechanics of XBLA hit Fez with the laid-back puzzles and cuboid environments of ilomilo. The game is played from a 2D side-view perspective. But swiping anywhere on-screen allows you to rotate the camera at will. You can peer above and below the level to get an idea of its layout, but the main use of swiping is to make new pathways open to the alien. While one 2D perspective may be filled with gaps, rotating the view 90 degrees reveals a solid path for him to take.

Turn in Run is a harmless game with no real failure conditions and easy Achievements to boot. Check out our full review for more details. Get it for 99 cents here from the Windows Phone Store.

Ghost escapes

In an amazing cosmic coincidence, Ghostscape - the game Windows Phone 8 lost this week - came out almost exactly one year before Turn N Run, back in the innocent days of 2011. Based on a free Flash game, Ghostscape is the only adventure game available for Windows Phone.

Players enter a haunted house and discover the unpleasant fate that befell its former residents. Much like Turn N Run, it’s impossible to die, making for an easy game on the whole. In fact, you can grab all of its Achievements in under an hour. Check out our review for more details.

Ghostscape didn’t make much of an impression upon its release, mostly due to its brevity and $2.99 price. A price drop could still happen, but the possibility of the game returning to Windows Phone 8 looks slim. As with previous partial delistings, Microsoft neglected to inform the developers about the compatibility issue; they learned from us. Ghostscape came from a tiny development team of two, and it would be difficult for the creators to go back and work up another patch this far down the line.

Get Ghostscape here on the Windows Phone Store.

Brighter clouds ahead?

Perhaps Ghostscape's partial delisting is no huge loss given the content of the game and its lack of replay value – after all, anyone who purchased it on Windows Phone 7 has likely already completed the entire experience long ago. But Windows Phone 7 and especially 8 need a diversity of Xbox games in their lineup. Hopefully the incompatibility issues dry up and new releases start coming along regularly this year.